Sorting machine



Aug. 24, 1937. w. w. LASKER 2,091,048

SORTING MACHINE Filed June 13, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 v 6 INVENTOR 4% W 6 ATTORNEY Aug. 24, 1937. w. w. LASKER SORT ING MACHINE Filed June 13, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Quill/1171121117111 INVENTOR ATTORNEY W. W. LASKER SORTING MACHINE Aug. 24, 1937.

Filed June 15, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet; 5

INVE NTOR ATTORNEY Aug. 24, 1937. w. LASKER 2,091,048

. S ORTING MACHINE Filed June 15, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 24, 1937 SORTING MACHINE William W. Lasker, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to Remington Rand Inc., Buffalo, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application June 13, 1934, Serial No. 730,389

3 Claims.

The present invention relates to machines for sorting record cards, in which the record is indicated by perforations made in accordance with one of a plurality of codes, and particularly to mechanism which permits the selection of cards bearing predetermined indicia and the rejection of all others.

As at present constructed, card sorting machines are provided with a plurality of pockets 10 or receptacles into which the cards fall, the index 15 1923, No. 1,534,595, dated May 21, 1925, No. 1,643,-

386, dated September 27, 1927; to Wyllie, No. 1,716,677, dated June 11, 1929; to Wright, No. 1,287,558, dated December 10, 1918, and No. 1,833,- 891, dated March 16, 1920; and to Goldberg, No. 1,627,028, dated May 3, 1927. The present invention is an improvement on sorters of the general type indicated by the above recited references.

It is an object of this invention to enable a card sorting machine to sort cards according to their digit indicia and reject either a single card, bearing any desired digit indicia, or a plurality of cards, bearing any desired digit indicia or any one of a number of such indicia.

In carrying out this object, manually operable means are provided for preventing the selection of the pocket or pockets in which the cards to be rejected would normally be deposited, with the result that the desired card, or cards, are deposited in the reject pocket. The remaining cards are deposited in the pockets normally adapted to receive them.

Other features and objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description when read in connection with the following drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic side view of a 90- column sorter, partly in section, showing the control elements of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic section taken longitudinally through the mechanism of this invention and showing the elements thereof and their relation to the card gate controlling mechanism.

Fig. 3 is an elevation showing the mechanism of Fig. 2 as it appears mounted on the rear end of a sorting machine.

Fig. 4 is an isometric diagram showing the chain of elements from the sensing means through an element of this invention to the means for controlling the card gate.

In order that the cooperation of the new mechanism with the old may be clearly understood a brief description of the 90-column sorter of Fig. 1 will be given at this point.

Cards are stacked in the magazine and are fed one by one through the medium of a picker ll (reciprocated, through links and eccentrics, by the main drive shaft which is not shown) to the pairs of feed rolls 12 which carry them into the sensing chamber I3. Each card is held in the chamber by a card stop (not shown) during a complete sensing operation. The card stop prevents the constantly rotating skid or transporting rolls from feeding the card from the chamber until a proper time.

The cards are sensed by a group of sensing pins I5 (Figs. 1 and 4) which are mounted in a sensing pin carriage [6 (of the type shown in my prior Patent No. 1,534,595), which is in turn adjustably mounted on guide rails I1 forming part of a reciprocating sensing head l8. The pin carriage may be manually moved to any desired column of the card. I

Locking means for the sensing pins 15 is provided in the carriage 16 in the form of a bail M (Fig. '4) on which the sensing pins may be selectively hooked and thus locked in a raised or disabled position.

Mounted on guide rails I9 beneath the sensing chamber is a frame 20 in which are fastened the sheaths of Bowden wires 21 the cores .of which are adapted to be moved by a sensing pin which has found a hole in the card above. This frame slides along its guide rails in conjunction with the manual setting of the sensing pin carriage so that the cores of said wires lie, at all times, directly under the sensing pins.

When the sensing head 18 is reciprocated those pins l5 which find holes in the cards come into contact with the cores of the Bowden wires 21 and extend the remote ends of these cores.

Movementof the core of a Bowden wire transmits movement to a wire 22 (Fig. 2) in an interpreter cage 23 through bell crank 24 which in turn causes movement of bell crank shaped latch 25, thereby releasing spring pressed firing lever 28,which strikes upon the end of a second Bowden wire 21. The function of the interpreter cage is to permit the sorting of either 45-column or 90-column cards. As this mechanism is fully described in my co-pending application S. N. 547,822, no description of it will be given here beyond that essential to an understanding of the present invention. The digit indicia in a 45- column card are represented by a single perforation while on a 90-column card some of the digit indicia are represented by two perforations. Thus, 3 is represented by a single perforation on a 45-column card and by two perforations on a 90-column card. In order that both these types of cards may be sorted on one machine, that is, deposited in the appropriate pockets, some means must be provided to effect the selection of the same pocket, whether the digit is represented by one perforation, as on the 45- column cards, or by two perforations, as on the 90-column cards. This means is the interpreter cage. When, for example, a 45-column card with a single perforation, representing the digit 3, is to be sorted, a single Bowden wire 2| is moved,

- and the interpreter cage then causes the proper Bowden wire 21 to actuate the pocket mechanism of the proper pocket which is to receive the card; and when a 90-column card with two perforations, representing the digit 4, is. to be sorted, two Bowden wires 2| are moved and the interpreter cage causes the same Bowden wire 27 to actuate the same pocket mechanism so that the Sol-column card with the two perforations representing the digit 3 is received by the same pocket as the 45-column card with the single perforation representing this digit. In this manner, the interpreter cage will cause any 45-column card with a single perforation representing a particular digit to be deposited in the same pocket as a 90-column card with two perforations representing the same digit.

Movement of the core of Bowden wire 21 causes a bell crank 28 (see Fig. 4 which shows the gate control mechanism) to rock about its pivot to extend a plunger 29 into the path of one of a series of tripping earns 30 mounted upon each of a series of tripping detents 3|. There is a tripping detent for each pocket. All detents are mounted upon a tripping shaft 32 which is driven by the main shaft and is thus synchronized with the reciprocations of the sensing head.

, When a tripping cam 30 encounters an extended plunger 29 the cam moves radially out from the periphery of the disc and is locked in its outward position. After the timing shaft, and the timing disc involved, have rotated a sumcient amount the tripping detent strikes an arm 33 (Fig. 1) which is thus caused to rotate the shaft 34 on which it is fixedly mounted. The shafts 3G carry the card gates 35 so that the operation of the arm results in the opening of the gate. Since the plungers 29 are mounted in different positions relative to the circumference of the discs it is obvious that the time between the operation of a plunger and the operation of the associated card gate varies. As is clearly described in my prior Patent 1,315,370 the construction is such that the time between the operation of a particular plunger and the associated card gate is equal to the time required for the transporting rollers 38 (Fig. 1) to convey the card from the sensing chamber to the gate.

From the above it is seen that each card is separately sensed and deposited in a pocket with all other cards which are perforated in the same row in the column being sensed.

The present invention modifies the device described above so that all cards bearing a predetermined index in any one column or any one of a number of predetermined indicia from one or more zones may be rejected and all cards not hearing this index, or these indicia, may be sorted in appropriate pockets. Means are provided for firing levers 26 to pre vent their actuation when released by latches 25. The mechanism of these means is shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4 and consists of latches 4|, bar 42, frames 43 and springs 44. Latch 41 is flexibly pinned to firing lever 26, bar 42 is supported by frames 43 and springs 44 are attached at one end to latches 4i and at the other end to a suitable anchor. A set of mechanism comprising latches ii, and springs 44 is provided for the control of each card gate, as is clearly shown in Fig. 3.

The operation of this mechanism is as follows: Latches 4! corresponding to the card gates 35 which are to be opened are permitted to remain free of bar 452. All others are hooked over said bar. The latter group of latches support those firing levers 28 which actuate the gates that are to remain closed. Hence, when member 2-5 releases any latched firing lever 26, it is not permitted to act upon its Bowden wires 21, and the corresponding card gate 35 is prevented from being opened.

Let it be assumed that all the cards perforated at positions 3 and 8 in column 20 in the upper zone of each of a group of 90-column cards are to be rejected and all others sorted.

The operator hooks latches 4!, which correspond to digits 3 and 8, over bar 42 and leaves all other latches 4| unhooked. Sensing pin box IE is set to column 20, sensing pins l of the upper zone are released, and those of the lower zone, are locked up. The machine is started by depressing starting button 50. The picker 1 I feeds the cards to rolls [2 which transport them to sensing chamber l3. Sensing pins l5 descend and passing through perforations in the cards actuate the cores of Bowden wires 2!, bell cranks 24, wires 22, latches 25 and firing levers 26.

Since all firing levers 26, except 3 and 8, are unhooked, all the firing levers 26 except those associated with 3 and 8 will be effective. The effective firing levers 26 actuate cores of Bowden wires 21, bell cranks 28, plungers 29, detents 3!), arms 33 and card gates 35 which correspond to the digits other than 3 and 8 in column 20, and

hence, only cards so perforated will be segregated, while the cards having perforations in column 29 representing digits 3 and 8 will be ineffective to actuate levers 26, and consequently such cards will fall in the reject pocket.

Again, let it be assumed that all cards perforated at 9 in column 68, i. 6. lower zone column 23, are to be rejected. Sensing pins l5 of the lower zone are released and those of the upper zone are locked up. Lever 4i bearing the indicia 9 is locked up and all others are left in unlocked position. The machine is started and the mechanism operating as hereinabove described will deposit all cards perforated at 9 in the 68th column in the reject pocket and all the remaining cards will be deposited in appropriate pockets.

While I have described what I consider to be a highly desirable embodiment of my invention, it is obvious that many changes in form could be made without departing from the spirit of my invention, and I, therefore, do not limit myself to the exact form herein shown and described, nor to anything less than the whole of my invention as hereinbefore set forth, and as hereinafter claimed.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a machine of the class described, a card receiving pocket, a card gate associated therewith, an arm for operating said card gate, a plurality of tripping detents adapted when individually projected into the path of said operating arm to open the card gate so as to provide access of a card to the pocket, a releasable latch, a firing lever normally held in its ineffective position by the latch but adapted to be moved to its efiec-' tive position upon the release of the latch, means responsive to the movement of the firing lever to its efiective position to project one of the tripping detents into the path of the operating arm, and means for preventing the movement of the firing lever to ts effective position when the latch is released so as to prevent access to the pocket of a card normally received thereby.

In a machine of the class described, a card receiving pocket, a card gate associated therewith, a reject pocket, an arm for operating said card gate, a plurality of tripping detents adapted when individually projected into the path of said operating arm to open the card gate so as to provide access of a card to the pocket, a releasable latch, a firing lever normally held in its ineffective position by the latch but adapted to be moved to its effective position upon the release of the latch, means responsive to the movement of the firing lever to its effective position to project one of the tripping detents into the path of the operating arm, and means for preventing the movement of the ciated with each operating arm and adapted when individually projected into the path of the associated operating arm to open the card gate controlled thereby so as to provide access of a 7 card to a card receiving pocket, a plurality of selectively releasable latches, a plurality of firing levers individually held in ineffective position by said latches but adapted to be moved to eflective position upon the release of the latches, means responsive to the movement of each firing lever to its effective position for projecting one of the tripping detents in one of said sets into the path of the associated operating arm, and means for preventing the movement of any desired firing levers to their effective position upon the release of the associated latches so as to prevent access of any desired cards to the pockets normally receiving them.

WILLIAM W. LASKER. 

